April 15, 2011
Margolis delivers a vivacious third installment in the Annabelle Unleashed series.
It is post–winter vacation, and Annabelle is full of New Year's resolutions and hope for the new semester. However, her equanimity is short-lived, as she finds herself embroiled in a multitude of secrets. Two key events occurring over the upcoming Valentine's Day weekend—the science fair and the first school dance—have created a moil of anxiety and intrigue among Annabelle and her friends. Annabelle silently nurtures a secret crush on her gregarious science-fair partner, Oliver. However, her silence leads to distress when good friend Claire openly declares her intent to ask Oliver to the dance. Is it too late for Annabelle to be honest with herself, her friend and Oliver about her crush? Annabelle also finds herself in a quandary when she discovers Emma's boyfriend has cheated on his science-fair project; Annabelle must decide when it is OK to divulge a secret. Margolis' breezy tone nicely conveys the peaks and valleys of middle-school life.
Readers will be cheering for Annabelle as she struggles to extricate herself from this tangled web of subterfuge. (Fiction. 8-12)
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
May 1, 2011
Gr 4-7-Annabelle's first year at a coed middle school continues to provide challenges and opportunities to observe that human and animal behavior are not all that far apart. This time it is the bugs that take center stage. It is February and everyone seems to be paired up in anticipation of the big Valentine's Day dance except Annabelle. Even her secret crush/science-fair partner has been snatched away by her friend Claire before she could declare her interest in him. Since love doesn't seem to be in the cards, can their project on how colors attract bugs at least win them first prize at the science fair? While the connection between bug attraction and first crushes is a bit of a stretch, Margolis makes a great attempt to make a case. Annabelle's mix of confidence and anxiety is spot-on for tween readers, and this third installment in the series will not disappoint fans of the first two.-Kathleen Meulen Ellison, Sakai Intermediate School, Bainbridge Island, WA
Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.